Battle for the Bell: Estancia rises to challenge, earns bragging rights against Costa Mesa

Estancia High football Coach Mike Bargas said he didn’t eat all day Friday.

In his eighth year in charge of the Eagles, Bargas still gets butterflies the day of a big game. Few are bigger than the Battle for the Bell game against rival Costa Mesa.

“I get nervous,” Bargas said. “I don’t want to have a stomach issue or something like that before the game.”

After Friday night’s game, Bargas could make up for it and eat as many ribs as he wanted. The Eagles headed to Newport Rib Co. as winners of the 48th Battle for the Bell game after earning a 28-3 victory at Jim Scott Stadium.

Estancia took back the bell, ringing it for the fourth time in the last five years after Costa Mesa won it last year on the way to the Orange Coast League title. The Eagles (5-2, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, hope to accomplish the same task this year. They stayed tied for first place in league with Saddleback, which beat Laguna Beach on Friday night.

Estancia likely doesn’t defeat Costa Mesa without sophomore running back Dylan Laurent, who finished with 190 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 14 carries. After the Eagles posed for pictures with the bell, another former Eagle running back passed by Laurent.

“Way to rock that [No.] 2, baby,” said DeionTe Haywood, who wore the jersey number for Estancia before graduating in 2013.

Laurent rocked it well, scoring on touchdowns of 29, seven and 79 yards. The last touchdown, where he sped up the Eagles sideline in the closing minutes, put the game out of reach.

“I just kept my head forward and looked up-field, kept moving forward,” Laurent said. “I asked for [that last] play, and coach gave it to me. He said, ‘Better not mess it up,’ so I ran as fast as I could and thankfully I got the job done.”

Estancia was more dominant defensively, shutting out the Mustangs (1-6, 1-1 in league) for the first three quarters. Senior middle linebacker Tyler Thomas was in on a handful of tackles, several going for losses.

“It feels good,” Thomas said. “I didn’t get a chance to play in the Battle for the Bell last year due to injury [a broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder]. They were a good opponent this year, a good game. We just read the guards, read our keys. The D-line [Dorian Navarette, Kevin Valencia, Brian Southwick and Jason Jones] did a great job. They were a big part of the game.”

The Mustangs, who did not have an official pass attempt in the first half, still ran the ball effectively with junior running back Mason Mataafa and quarterback Sammy Swanson. They had their chances. The first drive of the game lasted 10 plays as they drove to the Estancia 39-yard line, but a fumble was recovered by the Eagles’ junior lineman Israel Arroyo.

Three different times in the half, Costa Mesa was in Estancia territory. The closest the Mustangs got to points was after senior cornerback Daniel Suarez intercepted a pass over the middle midway through the second quarter. Costa Mesa took over at the Estancia 35-yard line.

Five plays later though, a 35-yard field goal attempt went wide. The Mustangs lost their chance to cut the Eagles’ lead, 6-0 at the time, in half.

Estancia then drove 80 yards in just five plays, scoring again when Dylan Laurent found the end zone on a 29-yard run to the right. After a successful conversion pass from junior quarterback Connor Brown to sophomore tight end Jeffrey Alai, the Eagles suddenly had a 14-0 advantage with 3:01 left in the half.

“They were bigger, faster and stronger than we were,” said Costa Mesa Coach Wally Grant, who had the Mustangs punt on third down twice in the game as they struggled to gain yardage. “We were in a formation that we haven’t used all year, saving it for them. We tried to trick them and fool them for a while and it worked, but at halftime they made their adjustment.”

Dylan Laurent, who had 147 of his rushing yards after halftime, was soon finding more holes. It made a difference for the Eagles, who also got a nice game from senior receiver Devon Jackson (four catches for 97 yards).

“The defense really kept us in the football game tonight,” Bargas said. “Then in the fourth quarter, we kind of wore them down a little bit. They stopped the run, and [the Mustangs] didn’t have much of a passing game, but Costa Mesa played us really hard. There’s no denying that. They’re a pretty good football team; they’re better than their record indicates.”

Bargas was still glad his Eagles came out on top. Ribs definitely sounded good to the man coaching on an empty stomach.

Estancia plays host to Laguna Beach next Friday, and Costa Mesa plays Godinez at Segerstrom High on Thursday.